Gateways for Import-Export

Working with Gateways in PM3 Milestone Plans

The previous discussion applies to Milestone Plans without gateways. If the plan includes gateways, the following special rules apply:

Exporting from PM3 (with Gateways)

• When you export a PM3 plan that includes gateways:

  • Gateways are included in the XML project file.

  • They can be viewed as normal using MS Project.

Importing an XML File That Contains Gateways

• If the XML file (e.g. from a previous PM3 export) contains Gateway milestones:

  • By default, the Gateway workstream is ignored during import.

    • This is because the current PM3 plan already contains gateways, controlled by the selected Gateway Set.

    • Gateways in PM3 cannot be overwritten by import, nor manually edited, except for some dates.

How to Override Default Gateway Import Behavior

If you want to import gateway milestones from the XML file into PM3 (bypassing the default behavior):

1. Open the XML file in MS Project.

2. Locate the Gateway Workstream (a Summary Task).

3. Click the Notes tab for the Summary Task.

4. Look for this entry:
   [$isgatewaywks=Y$]

5. Change the Y to N to mark it as a regular (non-gateway) workstream.

6. Also rename the Gateway Workstream to avoid confusion.

7. Save the file as XML.

8. When imported into PM3:

   • The Gateway milestones will be imported into a new, non-gateway workstream.

   • The existing Gateway workstream in PM3 will remain unchanged.

Handling Dependencies Involving Gateways

If there is a dependency between a Gateway milestone and a non-Gateway milestone in PM3:

• When exporting to MS Project and then re-importing:

  • If you force-load the gateway milestones into a new non-gateway workstream (as described above):

    • The dependency will appear in PM3 and will link to the milestone in the new workstream, not the original Gateway workstream.

  • If you do not override the default import behavior:

    • The dependency will not appear.